I'm Getting Too Old for This
by G1 ArchAngel
Summary: I haven't lived a very long life. Haven't lived a very eventful one either. But I know my short time on this Earth is far too long for the insanity that comes with inter-dimensional travel. Though I can't complain too much, as long as this colorful band of characters don't get me killed, that is.


The day started just like any other. I got up, got on the school provided shuttle to campus, went to my few classes for the day, then took the shuttle back to my room.

"Hm...I've got time to kill before the restaurant is open for dinner. I'll boot up Three Houses." I say quietly to myself. "Still gotta fuck the pope." Being the weird twenty-three year old that I am, I also turned on my computer and threw on a video on YouTube, and for some reason I was craving the nostalgia of an old Lost Pause video. However, as I was grinding up some gold, I noticed that my computer screen had started glowing a purple color. "I've read and written enough fanfiction to know where this is going. Alright, powers that be. Bring it on so we can get this show on the road." I call out, glad that my roommate was still at his classes so he wouldn't be hearing this insanity. The Fates, or whoever was in charge of this, obliged me, increasing the intensity of the light until it was blinding, then eventually faded. "Okay, so I'm...somewhere. Clearly not in Kansas anymore, since these trees are clearly not any from New York. Guess I gotta find civilization." I muse, before checking myself over in a nearby puddle. My reflection showed my blue eyes and blonde hair bordering on brown, and an undamaged face hidden by a good amount of beard. "Alright, everything seems in order. Now it's time to find people." With that said and done, I start wandering down the trail I seemed to have found myself on. Lost in thought, I ended up tripping on something. Looking at it as I stood up revealed a blue, sticky goo. "Seriously? I tripped on slime. A slime...with a dog's face on it that slammed into my legs...awesome."

"Are slimes suppose to look like that...or move?" A voice asks me from my left. The person in question having short brown hair and brown eyes, sitting cross legged watching the situation unfold.

"No...No they are not…" I grumble angrily.

"All right dogoo, we've got you cornered now." A girl with brown hair and an oversized blue coat says to the creature, blades in her hands. She was quickly joined by two more girls. One was wearing a white and purple sailor's outfit and the other a plaid skirt and cream sweater.

"Are you two alright?" The sailor girl asks, looking concerned at me and my...companion? Not sure what to consider him, really.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've had worse happen. You?" I chuckle before facing the only other male of the group and dust myself off.

"Other then no memories, perfectly fine? You guys…?" He asks more than says.

"Questions later...horde of goo now?" I ask, pointing to the small army of the blue creatures that had appeared near the now reformed thing.

"Yikes! So many dogoos!" The last girl of the trio cries out, pulling out a giant needle from actually nowhere.

"What are they doing…?" Sailor Girl asks as the...things…move towards and smush themselves against the others. This resulted in them forming a ten foot tall version on them.

"DOG. GOO. DOGOO." It says in an overly bassy voice.

"Did they just combine!?" Sailor Girl asks, looking frightened.

"No, they baked us a pie." I say drly. "Clearly they combined."

"Mmm...pie…" Cream hums.

"We're gonna need a big stick for that thing…" Generic White Male quips while standing up.

"Things just got challenging for us...Hey, can either of you fight?"

"Is the pope catholic...? What's a pope…?" Generic White Man asks while picking up a stick. I gave him a confused look before turning back to the trio.

"Do I seem like I've EVER been in a fight before? Look over the fat man one more time and then ask the question again please." I reply sarcastically

"No need to be an ass about it. Oh, I know. Gear, go ahead and transform. That'll make this a snap." Coat says, turning to sailor girl.

"T-Transform?" The now named "Gear" asks.

"Y'know, Hard Drive Divinity. HDD. You haven't used it since coming back, right? Here's your chance."

"I'm so confused about what's happening." I comment idly.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about, so I'm no expert, but it looks like your making your friend rather distressed by asking that, brunette." Generic White Man comments thoughtfully.

"Iffy just wants to see Ge-Ge in her super pretty HDD form…" Cream says to GWM while looking at "Iffy".

"Regardless. Let's just kill this thing." He responds with before looking at me. "If you can't fight, step back."

"Fight...Activate HDD, and fight...Nnngh…" "Gear" struggles, making a weird face as she talks to herself.

"Huh!? What's the matter with you?" "Iffy" says to "Gear".

"She seems like she constipated, if her face is anything to go by." I say.

"Will you just shut up!?" "Iffy" clearly is done with my shit, which is bad news for me, given how sarcastic wit is how I deal with stressful situations.

"Dude. Not cool. Time and place."

"You don't even know who the pope is. How the hell would you know what time and place is?"

"I...I can't do it!" "Gear" shouts. "I'm too scared to use it!"

"It's okay, Ge-Ge...Iffy is just being a big bully right now." Cream says.

"Ugh, that wasn't my intention...Jeez, fine! Let's just beat it up the old-fashioned way! And you! Don't get in our way!" She finishes, pointing at me.

"Don't need to tell me twice." I say, raising my hands into the air and taking several steps back from the glaring woman. "Have fun!" "Gear" pulled out a laser sword and the three girls got into fighting stances. GWM just...stood there, looking at his stick.

"So...do we just hit it till it dies or do we need to do something special?" GWM asks while giving the stick in his hand a test swing.

"Getting the leaves off your branch there would be a good place to start, bud." I tell him. He just nods snapping them off as the others start the battle. "Gear" fought in a very straightforward one handed sword style, though she would mix in some dance-like moves her and there as she cut away at the monstrous goo. "Iffy" was constantly in motion, hacking away with her two blades. Cream was every child's worst nightmare, simply stabbing it with her giant needle and injecting it with the mystery fluid contained within. By the time GWM was done cleaning his stick, the fight was over with.

"Well I'd like to think I made a great contribution to the team." He comments with a smirk.

"Really?" Iffy asks dryly. "That went better than I had hoped. Are you okay, Gear?"

"I'm so sorry...I…" "Gear" starts, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about...whatever you're concerned about. That thing is dead, and everyone got out unscathed. That's more important than that, right?" I ask the girl as I got closer, though I stayed out of "Iffy's" reach.

"From my point of view, you have nothing to apologise for. You were useful. We might not of been able to do it without you...I mean all I have is a stick. And brunette over would probably be to concerned with protecting nurse over there to effectively fight." GWM states while patting her head.

"They're right, unfortunately...Just forget about it. We completed the quest, so let's go turn in our report and collect our reward." "Iffy" says with a small smile.

"Okay…" "Gear" says, still looking dejected. The three then started walking away to wherever this report needed to go. Since they're my only hope for answers, I followed from a safe distance. GWM however sped past me and was strolling right next to them and making casual conversation.

"Why are you two following us?" "Iffy" asks eventually.

"I...am very lost, and don't have anywhere to go. You three are my best option for survival, so...here I am." I answer honestly and with a shrug.

"And I have amnesia!" GWM answers honestly with a bit too much cheer.

"Amnesia, and nowhere to go? Oh! I have a friend like that! You can stay with me. I'm Compa." Cream says, introducing herself.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. My name's Steven." I say, extending my hand for her to shake, which she does.

"I think my name's Edgar. It's the only name I can recall...You're truly a saint for putting up two total strangers, Compa."

"The name's IF." "Iffy" says. "And if either of you try anything with Compa, I'll skin you alive."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Iffy." I tell her with a small smile.

"I mean, she is cute so I get your worries, but don't worry. It would be highly inappropriate to do those things." Edgar says innocently.

"Good. I won't have anybody laying hands on my girlfriend."

"I-Iffy…" Compa says blushing.

"Anybody but you, right?" I tease, making both turn incredibly red.

"P-Please stop…" "Gear" begs. "My name is Nepgear."

"Nice to meet you. So, where we headin'?" I ask, arms behind my head as we walk.

"Forwards?" Edgar half asks with a toothy grin.

"...The Guild." Iffy answers with a dead look on her face. "We're going there to turn in quest and get our reward." She explains. The rest of the walk was filled mostly with questions about the world from Edgar until we reached what was apparently our destination. After we entered the building, IF went up to the counter, filled out some forms, and was handed some form of money. "Report the results, and get paid. See? Pretty simple process, right?" She asks, holding up the sum of cash.

"Yes. We get work from the Guild, complete it, report it, and then we can collect the posted reward!" Nepgear replies.

"Are all quests a seek and destroy type of thing like you just turned in, or are there other types?" I ask, genuinely curious about the system.

"There's collection quests too, but there's a good chance the items you'll need will only come from monster drops, so you'll still need to fight." Iffy answers.

"Any chance for a nice peaceful quest like gathering herbs?" Edgar asks, sounding hopeful.

"Sure, if you want to repeat it a few hundred times to make any worthwhile credits, and you still risk monsters attacking you."

"So it's always fighting then...I see…" I mutter, cupping my chin.

"Seems to be the flow of things...so how does one get equipped around here? I don't feel safe with just a stick." Edgar asks Iffy.

"There's a store nearby. We should be able to get something. We have to kill time before Histoire is done anyways, so we'll take a few more quests."

"But what about Stevie, Iffy?" Compa asks.

"Stevie? That takes me back. But uh...yeah...I'm not really a fighter, but I DO have some experience with weapons. I can be passable with a bow or a gun. Don't know how much help it'll be though."

"Anything will help, and we should be able to afford something for both of you." Nepgear says.

"Well alright then. Let's go get us kitted out for some good old fashioned manual labor." The store we were brought to was very small, and didn't have much of a selection. Edgar walked out with a wooden training sword, and I got myself a wooden bow. When I asked the the shopkeep about arrows, he just laughed and waved me out of the store.

"Since this will be your guys' first time, we'll take things slower. I need to figure out where to start with you two…" Iffy says. "Steven, shoot that dogoo over there. Edgar, finish it off when he's done."

"Sure thing, Boss." I reply, drawing an arrow from the hip quiver I was given and fired it. The projectile sank into the creatures eye with a squelch, but it didn't physically react.

"Is now a good time to say I have no idea what I'm doing?" Edgar asks while trying to joust his sword into the dogoo and failing miserably.

"It...slash it, not stab." I deadpan. "Even I know that. Iffy, should I just...put it out of its misery?"

"I've got this." Edgar assures us, stepping on the slime with an annoyed look, finishing it off.

"Great job!" Compa cheers. IF had her face in her hands, and Nepgear was poking her index fingers together, showing how awkward she was feeling.

"How many more things do we need to hunt for this quest?" I ask.

"Two more dogoos and three radishers." Nepgear answers.

"We'll be done in no time!" Compa says, keeping her cheer levels at one hundred and ten percent.

"Let's get this over with then. This sword thing is harder than it looks…" Edgar says while doing some test swings to get use to it.

"What's so hard about swish swish stab? It's a sword, not a fucking fighter jet." I say, an image of a certain blue Spartan coming to mind.

"Gear, you and I will go get the radishers. Compa, please stay here and make sure these two idiots don't get themselves killed." Iffy states.

"Okie-Dokie, Iffy." Compa replies with a salute.

"Idiot? I'll have you know that I have-And she's gone. Time for murder." I say, nocking another arrow.

"No pressure or anything...maybe I'll have better luck punching...wait…" Edgar trails off into deep thought.

"Yeah, give the slime a good fisting. I bet it'll love it." I comment before letting the arrow fly at the next nearest dogoo.

"Stevie! You can't say stuff like that! Kids might be reading." The girl says, scolding me for...some reason.

"...Reading? Compa, are you feeling ok?" Edgar asks as he punches a dogoo to death.

"Yuppers! Why wouldn't I be?" This monster slaughter went on for a while, even after we finished our end of the quest requirements, before we eventually sat down for a breather.

"Hey Compa? What exactly do you do? You have a big needle, but that's not exactly something to judge a person on alone." I ask.

"I like to help people, and Grandpa always said it's good to help people, so I became a nurse."

"Your grandpa sounds like a wise man."

"Mhm!"

"Wanna go check up on Nepgear and IF? Make sure they are ok?" Edgar suggests.

"I trust Iffy and Ge-Ge. They'll be fine." Compa says, and sure enough, the two return no worse for wear.

"How did it go?" Nepgear asks us.

"I'd say pretty good." I say, handing her a rather large bag of goo corpses.

"I found out I'm better at punching then swish swish stab!" Edgar cheers.

"And I'm a better shot than I thought. Can't believe I didn't hit your shoulder that one time." I add, patting Edgar on the shoulder that I missed.

"Can't touch this~" Edgar almost sings. "Strange...that seems familiar, oh well...let's go turn in the quests!" The man adds.

"Yeah. Let's head back to Planeptune." Iffy agrees, leading us back to the Guild. Compa, being the sweetheart I've come to realize she is, spent the entire time asking us about ourselves. Well, mostly me, since I was the only one with answers. It was funny when I told them how old I was, because IF refused to believe me. Same when I told her I had an Associate's degree in electrical engineering technology. Kinda rude of her, but I brought this upon myself. "Oops. I totally forgot to give you something earlier, Gear." Iffy says, stopping our march through the streets.

"Huh? What's this, a present?" Nepgear asks, and Iffy hands her a wadded up piece of paper. When she unfurls it, she seemed to grow confused. "A...product proposal?"

"Yeah. Nep gave it to me a while back, but I think you'll make better use of it than I ever would. I mean, you're into tinkering with electronics and whatnot, right?"

"Ah, a fellow nerd. But what's a Nepbull, and who's a Nep?" I ask, looking over the top of the pink haired girl's head.

"Who failed first year art class?" Edgar asks looking towards Iffy.

"That's Neptune. She's my older sister, and Nepbull is a drink that boosts your energy." Nepgear answers. "I'd love it, IF, but are you sure I can have this? I mean, it was a gift from Neptune."

"Honestly, I can't read her scribbles. They may as well be moon runes...But you know how to read it, right?" Iffy states honestly.

"Yes. She made sure that only Histoire and myself would be able to decipher her handwriting." Nepgear says proudly.

"Hey Compa? Why would a drink need a circuit diagram?" I whisper to her.

"What's a circuit diagram?" Compa and Edgar ask at the same time.

"It's...complicated. Not a discussion for now." I reply. We turned in the quest and went to the tallest building in the city. "Damn…" I mutter, straining my neck to look up at it from the base of the tower. IF lead us to an elevator, and eventually to some form of meeting room, where we were greeted by a blonde haired, blue eyed fairy in purple robes floating on book.

"Ah. Perfect timing, you...five? I was not aware that we were expecting guests." She says.

"Who is this cutie?!" Edgar cheers as he goes and tries to pet the fairy.

"Please refrain from touching me." The fairy pleads, though it fell on deaf ears as he lifted her up and rubbed his cheek against hers. "A-Abababababa…"

"I'll get the idiot, one of you get the fairy." I state, hooking my arms underneath his and dragged him away as Compa gently took her out of Edgar's hands.

"Sorry about that, Histoire. We found a couple strays while we were out and decided to keep them." IF tells her.

"Hi! I'm a stray!" I say cheerily, waving a hand awkwardly as I move Edgar further away.

"I wanna pet the cute thing!" Edgar protests whilst thrashing about, trying to break free.

"I WILL kick you in the dick!" I shout at him, and thankfully he stopped.

"Hello young men. I am Histoire, the Oracle of Planeptune. May I ask your names?"

"Of course pretty fairy! I'm Edgar!"

"Steven. I wish we didn't meet on such...weird terms."

"It is alright. I shall simply move on to what I was saying previously. I was able to locate the Planeptune Mascot." Alright, Steven. Just nod and pretend you understand what she's talking about.

"Wow, really?" Compa asks.

"Yes. You will find it in the area known as Virtua Forest. It seems the Mascot is hibernating." Histoire explains.

"Feels like we're finally starting to take action again. Let's roll!" Nepgear remained silent at Iffy's declaration.

"But tiny fairy…" Edgar whines.

"Oh. My apologies. I forgot that the two of you have no understanding as to what is going on. Will one of you please explain the situation as you travel? I do not wish to risk the Mascot by taking too much time."

"Of course, Histy. Leave it to your handy dandy Compa." Compa says. The trip into the depths of the forest was exposition, explaining the last three years in Gamindustri.

"So let me get this straight. You're a goddess, and your sister as well as her friends are also goddesses...and after you all got the shit kicked out of you, you were trapped in a hentai tentacle pit for three years as an organization with the words "syndicate" and "crime" in the name managed to take over the world through some strange form of diplomacy. Now it's up to you, the only free goddess as far as we're aware, a fairy, and us four mortals to save the world, traveling across different nations to find some all powerful entities in order to free them. I got that right, right?" I ask.

"So...I can't eat the Mascot?" Edgar asks slightly saddened.

"What!? No!" Nepgear cries out. "You can't eat the Mascot and you aren't...wrong...Steven."

"Now that you know, what'll you do?" Iffy asks. "Our chances aren't great, and you don't have any reason to stay." I thought about that for a moment before answering.

"Sure, there's a high chance I'll kick the bucket. I'd be surprised otherwise. But this whole situation is a lot bigger than me. Even if I didn't want to help, and I do want to help mind you, this isn't something that should be outweighed by one person's desires. Oh, and after learning all that, it'd really leave a bad taste in my mouth if I just walked away." I tell her with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Well if I walked away, I'd have no one to help me...and I really want to see Histoire again. She's shockingly soft. You should try petting her sometime, Steven. But yes I'm here to stay." Edgar says with a big smile.

"Yay! More friends on our adventure!" Compa cries out, wrapping the two of us into a hug.

"Shh...We don't want to draw more attention than we normally do." I say to her. "Though it's nice to know I'm welcome."

"Thank you for your help saving my sister." Nepgear says, bowing deeply as Compa let's us free.

"Save the thanks for when we actually free them, Gear." Iffy tells the young goddess.

"R-Right!" Once we reach the darker areas of the forest, the difficulty of the enemies increased, but with the five of us working together we made relatively short work of them. Well, except for the viral monsters we fought. That was a pain and the ass...and the arm. I'm glad Compa's nursing ability somehow translates to magic healing.

"Are you gonna be okay back there? I think I see something up ahead." Iffy says, looking back at us from the front of the pack.

"I'm good. My shoulder is just a little stiff, that's all." I answer, massaging my bow arm, which the Viral Tulip had attacked.

"So why can't we go pet the wolf?" Edgar asks sad. " I know you said it's dangerous, but I'm sure we could befriend it."

"That's not how monsters work. We've told you this. Five times. You aren't petting the wolf!" IF hollers at him.

"I see it too! Wait...Huh…? Someone's already there." Compa says, replying to something Nepgear must have said before the sound of metal clanging against the floor could be heard.

"Seems as though that person is trying to break...something...What the goodness!? Please stop!" Nepgear calls out, breaking into a sprint as we get closer. Standing over a strange, crystal like sphere was a woman with grey skin, green hair, and was wielding a painted metal pipe.

"Huh? Who the hell are you five? You'd better stay outta my way, kids."

"Kids? At least we're not the one's looking like they're going through their rebellious teenage years." I quip. "What, did Daddy say no to a purse you wanted?" I immediately felt proud of myself when I heard Nepgear choke on air.

"We're trying to make her stop, not make her angry Steven…" Edgar sighs. "Miss, could you please stop your mindless destruction?"

"Why the hell would I do that? These things are a nuisance, and ASIC wants 'em gone." She says, sounding slightly offended.

"You're a member of ASIC then?" Iffy asks with a scowl.

"No, she's doing her weekend volunteer work. Of course she's ASIC, and she's doing the grunt work of all things. She must be one of their bottom bitches." I say, and I could see vein bulge on her forehead.

"The hell are you talking about!? I'm a proud and mighty member of ASIC's front-line infantry. Don't you forget it!"

"Front-line infantry? Wouldn't that make you just one of their expendable underlings?" Iffy asks.

"Definitely an underling." Nepgear adds with a straight face.

"Hey, she has a name...miss underling, please introduce yourself." Edgar asks the underling.

"...The name's Linda." The fuck? Did...did the boy-man get her to blush?

"Miss Underling is definitely an underling." Compa comments, ignoring her completely.

"Ladies, you're being rude. The politically correct term is Cannon Fodder." I joke.

"How is she an underling? She works for a company, has her own name and doesn't deserve to be trashed like this." Edgar says, trying to stick up for Underling.

"Was he dropped on his head, because as much as I don't like it, even I see why you're calling me that." Underling asks.

"We're not sure, honestly. All we need to know is that Underling is the only name you need, Underling. Now beat it." IF states.

"Damn. Iffy givin' it to her straight and hard." I chuckle, readying my weapon for the moment when Underling finally snaps.

"Could you please move out of our way, Miss Underling?" Compa asks politely.

"If she's just an underling, maybe I could fight her…" From the sounds of it, Nepgear was talking to herself.

"I know this isn't the BEST option, but there's a pretty high ledge we could just...shove her off of. Should be high enough to, uh, take care of her." I suggest.

"H-Hey! I know I'm not the greatest person, but ya don't need to go that far…"

"We don't have to kill her. Just stop her." Nepgear adds in the goon's defense.

"Am I the only one of us who understands mind games?" I whisper to myself, shaking my head. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." I grumble, nocking an arrow. We didn't really have the chance to do anything, though, as Underling suddenly lunged at Nepgear, putting the Candidate on her ass with one swing of her pipe.

"Jeex, how is she so powerful!? Nepgear shouldn't have gone down that easily." IF states.

"Do you think it's because ASIC has so many of this area's Shares?" Compa asks.

"Well from the low down you gave us, they've been stealing every nation's Shares, right? It makes sense for them to overpower a weakened CPU of one nation." Edgar comments.

"So much for all that talk. I'm gonna kill you all one by one, starting with this brat." Underling says, grabbing Nepgear by the hair. After tossing the girl back to the ground, she raised her weapon, but instead of hitting Gear, she hits IF, who had dove in the way of the strike.

"IF!?"

"Oh...Good...Just in the nick of time…" She groans. Yeah, I think it's time to make myself useful. With only one option for being a distraction, I loosed arrow after arrow in rapid succession, not really caring if I hit her or not as long as it kept her at bay.

"I don't really wanna hurt the pretty lady, but I'll help out." Edgar says, readying his sword.

"*Sigh*...This one is gonna be the death of my sanity. I just know it." I groan before deciding to drown out the rest of the world. Too bad I ended up putting more shots into Edgar than her. I'll have to apologize for that later.

"Will you two knock it off already!? You'll get your turn after I finish those two...Ugh...What's goin' on back there? What's with that light…? Oh crap, are you a CPU?" Underling asks, staring over my shoulder. I turn around, curious to what it was she was looking at, saw that Nepgear was now wearing a white bodysuit with purple accents, her eyes had turned blue, her hair pink, and she was floating due to two mechanical looking wings.

"Compa was right. She is super pretty." I say out loud before clamping a hand over my mouth. Didn't keep Nepgear from turning red though.

"Nepgear is super pretty!" Edgar cheers proudly, changing her hue from red to crimson. She recovered quickly enough and swiftly flew at Underling, thoroughly thrashing her with her new gunblade...Steven wants one…

"Gaaaah! Dammit, that's not fair! I mean, transforming and stuff? C'mon!"

"I'll spare your life if you leave in peace." Nepgear states with a previously unheard confidence.

"Yeah, Nepgear...Things don't normally work like that. These types will probably keep trying until they're dead."

"That's a mean thing to say, Stevie." Compa says.

"Compa. It's kinda true though." Iffy says as Underling tries to attack the Mascot again.

"No, wait!" Nepgear shouts, though it's too late as the crystal orb-thing shatters.

"Hehehe. Serves it right. I'm all done here. Next up, Lastation's Mascot!"

"Don't you run away!" Iffy yells as Underling does just that. She hauled ass so quick I couldn't even process her leaving. "Ugh, jeez. She's too fast for her own good."

"How is she too fast for her good? Isn't being fast a good thing?" Edgar asks while putting his weapon away.

"Well, since she just murdered the Mascot, it's not really a good thing she could run away from us like that." I answer honestly while holding a few pieces of the Mascot's remains.

"The Mascot…" Nepgear whines, falling to her knees as tears began to stream down her face.

"Worry not, CPU Candidate." The shards in my hand begin to glow before a ball of purple light emerges from them.

"Um, okay. This is a new one, and I've seen some weird anime. This new for anyone else?" I ask.

"Me me me! It's new for me!" Edgar says while raising his hand.

"Everything's new for you...Anyway, I'm guessing you're the ghost of the Mascot." I say to the orb.

"Not exactly, but that would be an adequate enough way of defining my current existence. How unexpected to have my body destroyed while I was sleeping…"

"U-Um, so...you're okay? I mean, you're talking even after you got smashed to pieces…" Nepgear asks.

"'Okay' is not quite accurate, CPU Candidate, but this state is due to my being able to seperate part of my power from my body. Here. I will grant what power I have left to you." As the Mascot finishes, Nepgear is enveloped in purple light, though she appears no different after it faded. Well, except for the shocked expression on her face.

"Goodness...This is the power of a nation's Mascot, then?"

"CPU Candidate, I have no way of knowing what has transpired since I began my long slumber, but I have faith that you will use my power for a just cause." And with that final statement, the Mascot faded away, shards and all.

"So...How did you get over your issue of not being able to transform, Nepgear?" Edgar asks, causing the girl in question to blush.

"I'm curious too. We were kinda busy being distractions." I add, quirking an eyebrow.

"Iffy kissed her…" I...I can't tell if Compa's angry about it or not, and that's the scary part.

"G-Goodness…" Nepgear whines, covering her face as she begins to steam.

"What the hell did I miss?" I ask, disappointed.

"Iffy was acting all lovey dovey with Ge-Ge and not me…"

"Wh-What!? N-No, that's not how it was! Um, oh! Let's hurry back and report this to Histoire!" Iffy deflects, face becoming red.

"Sure, Iffy. Let's head back. Today's been long enough anyways." I sigh, and Nepgear finally changes back.

"Ooh! We can have dinner at my apartment!" Compa suggests shortly after we begin walking back to the city.

"Sooo...what's for tea?" Edgar asks curious.

"We could have tea, sure." Compa says.

"Can we invite Histoire? She could use a break." Nepgear asks.

"Nepgear you're my new best friend...My only best friend, actually…" Edgar cheers at the mention of Histoire.

"O-Oh! Uh…" Nepgear blushes a little, but mostly looks confused.

"Of course! The more the merrier." Compa answers.

"To explain, Gear, he's excited you've invited Histoire. Pretty sure he's somehow become addicted to her. Might need to fix that." I explain before going off an a small tangent.

"Oh, okay."

"Do you have enough food in your apartment to feed us all?" IF asks.

"Um...Uh…"

"After we talk to Histoire we'll stop by the store, okay?" Iffy says.

"Thank you, Iffy." Compa says, giving her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"C-Compa, please…"

"It's never a dull moment with you all, is it?" I ask before laughing my heart out. "Makes me glad that you're the ones that found me and not someone else."

"It is nice, isn't it." Nepgear adds as the couple does there thing, nodding in agreement before giggling a little.

"Are they always like this?" Edgar asks Nepgear.

"What does it matter if we are or not…" Iffy says, face still red as Compa holds her left arm to her rather bountiful chest.

"Well for someone who isn't seeing someone...it is a rather hard scene to look at…" Edgar half mutters with a small blush.

"A-Are you jealous?" I ask him in a whisper, not speaking out loud that I, too, am actually jealous of them.

"W-what? No! Why would I be jealous…?" He hastily responds with.

"You ARE jealous...Why else would them being like bother you so much?"

"You have no room to talk." He states before walking over to Nepgear and starts asking her some questions.

"Um...excuse?" I ask myself before giving up trying to understand what just happened and walked quietly at the back on our way to Planeptune. Once again Histoire was waiting for us, and she gave Nepgear a once-over.

"It appears that you have indeed secure the power of Planeptune's Mascot. However…" Histoire states.

"We know that ASIC and its cronies are aware of the Mascot's existence, too." Iffy explains.

"Miss Underling said she was gonna take a trip to Lastation next." Compa adds.

"We should chase her quick, or she'll get there ahead of us again." Nepgear states.

"Don't be too impatient, Gear." I say. "With the way things went, we're gonna have to prepare, and honestly? She's just as likely to not know where it is as we are."

"If we take too long won't they get the Mascot." Edgar says whilst petting Histoire happily.

"Indeed, though what Steven said does have merit." Histoire says. "Please stop touching me."

"Yeah, she has a point, man. If she asks you to stop, you really should." I say to Edgar, who did not listen to the fairy when she asked.

"Ok." He says, a little sad but stops petting Histoire.

"Thank you."

"Histoire? Would you like to join us for dinner at Compa's apartment?" Gear asks her.

"Apologies, but there is much I have to do here. Perhaps another time."

"Aww...But you're always working so hard. I thought you could use the break." Nepgear mutters dejectedly.

"*sigh* With reasoning like that, I suppose I have little room to refuse. Thank you, Nepgear." It was kind of awkward traveling to Compa's place. I ended up carrying Histoire on my shoulder after she was knocked off her book for the third time. "I apologize for this."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like you're heavy or anything, and you sitting on my shoulder is probably the safest place for you on the streets. How does it feel to be tall?"

"It is a bumpy ride. However do you manage so often?" Histy has a sense of humor? Cool.

"Don't worry, Histy. We're almost there. Just one more turn." Compa says, moving a bag she was carrying out of the way of a kid on a handheld. Compa's apartment was...not surprising, really. Her furniture was pink and soft, and her walls were cream colored with red hearts. "Make yourselves comfy." She says, snatching the bags from all of us and bringing them to the kitchen before going to work. With that said, I gently set the fairy back on her book, which Edgar had placed on one of the couches.

"Need some help, Compa? I'm not a professional, but I can manage something in the kitchen." I ask, wanting to make myself helpful, as well as escape the silence that seemed to have formed as we waited for food.

"I'm okay. Thank you for asking though. The room you and Edgar will be in is down the hallway on the left next to mine."

"Alright. I'll check it out. You coming, Edgar?"

"I suppose I can check it out." He agrees, getting up off of the sofa. We went to the aforementioned room, and it was a tamer version of the previous room's decor, though looking around the room revealed a small problem.

"Hey Edgar? I don't think either one of us is fitting in this bed." I say to him. I am shorter than he is, and I can tell that my legs would be dangling off the foot of the bed.

"Take your pick. I'd say for you to take the bed. I don't mind sleeping on the couch...or the floor...Anything for that matter." He answers, starting to trail off.

"Alright. It'd probably be easier for me to curl up and sleep on this thing than it would be for you anyway. If that's the case, though, you can head on back. I'm just gonna check this out a bit more then I'll be back."

"Don't take too long, or you might miss tea." He mentions, leaving the room.

"He says that like I miss meals. Look at me, for fucks sake." I sigh, shaking my head. "Now that I'm alone, I can finally wrap my brain around what happened to me. I somehow got pulled into what can only be another world, and probably don't have a way home, I only have the clothes on my back and a currently useless phone and wallet, and I've left my mother stuck with any issues my disappearance might have caused. A plus son right here. Worse part is I probably won't even be that big of a contributor. The kid with amnesia can do better than me…What a fucking day…" I groan, flopping onto the small bed. I would have laid there longer, but the sound of footsteps moving away from me kinda spoiled that thought. "Ah, fuck…Time to face the music, I guess." I got up and went back to the living room, where Nepgear sat with sparkles in her eyes.

"You're from another dimension? What is your world's technology like?" The excited girls asks in succession.

"That...was not the series of questions I was expecting…" I deadpan, realizing that this should be expected of someone that tinkers with tech. "I was expecting to be interrogated for being a spy for ASIC or something."

"You are NO spy." Iffy says. "You would've noticed me tailing you and standing fully in the open doorway."

"So that's why you were standing outside his door...I thought it was strange. You some sort of spy IF?" Edgar asks.

"Sort of. I'm part of the Planeptune Guild's Intelligence Division. Oh, and Steven? A spy's humor wouldn't be that bad."

"That hurts, Iffy. It really does. I do want to apologize about that. Sometimes, in certain situations, I just lose my filter. I think it's just a defense mechanism so I don't lose my marbles. Oh, and sorry for the arrows, Edgar. Didn't mean to shoot you so much."

"Tell me what a pope is and I'll call it even." He decides on out of nowhere. "You seemed to know what I was talking about."

"The Pope is the ultimate earthly authority in regards to the Catholic religions back home. He's apparently selected to lead by God himself when the previous Pope dies."

"Thank you. So, IF, we aren't gonna get killed for knowing your a spy right? No witnesses?" He asks her nervously.

"You're fine, don't worry." She says, waving away his concerns.

"If you do not mind, may I see any form of government documentation you may have on you?" Histoire asks. Seeing no reason to deny her, I hand her my New York State driver's license and my draft card.

"I don't have anything…" Edgar admits, starting to get more nervous than before.

"That is alright. This is enough to confirm Steven's claims. However, as it is clear you are not from Gamindustri, you both shall have issues until you acclimate to the way our world functions." Histoire states.

"What do you mean, Histy?" Compa asks over her shoulder.

"I think she means things like stats and inventory." Nepgear says.

"Those sound...familiar." Edgar says, his eyes lighting up a bit.

"Yeah, those are pretty common video game terms." I tell him. What about...this situation? We aren't exactly combat oriented. Me more so than him."

"I'll be whipping you two into shape. We need to slow down a bit and prepare anyway, and getting our weakest links up to par would be a good place to start. I'll be working you two to the bone seven days a week, even if you're bruised, bloody, and ready to collapse."

"Goodness, IF! That's extreme!" Nepgear cries out.

"Time to get this grindfest going!" Edgar cheers. "Take it easy on Steven. I think he'll need it." He adds with a playful smirk.

"Fuck off. If anything I'll need to be pushed even harder to make up the gap. Change my diet from what it was, and I should be fine. Not gonna lie, looking forward to this a little." I say. "What kind of time do you think we have, all knowing fairy?"

"At most you will have three weeks." Histoire states. "I would allow you more, but I do not wish to push limits we are not aware of." From there we just fell into idle chatter and ate the chicken and steamed vegetables that Compa had made. Everyone else but me was served a bowl of rice, and then I realized that Compa had already started helping me with what I had said. Sleep didn't come easy, scrunching up on the tiny bed, but I was thankful when it finally did.

**Hey, everyone. I'm back in the land of HDN, and I'm with Tehg2000 this time. He's kinda the expert on this part of the series, while I'm playing it for the first time as we write. A clean slate for me and the ol' stomping grounds for him. Hopefully this will be as interesting for you all to read as it will be for us to write. So, until next time, see ya.**


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